Bear found in Incline Village killed by wildlife officials
By Anne Knowles
A male black bear identified by the Nevada Department of Wildlife as the animal who ripped siding off an Incline Village home last month was caught and euthanized on Wednesday.
The male bear captured and euthanized by NDOW on March 14, according to the BEAR League. Photos/BEAR League
NDOW discovered the bear after responding to a call it received from an individual in Incline Village the morning of March 14. NDOW officials tranquilized the bear and then positively identified it based on distinctive markings and patterns of behavior gleaned from accounts of witnesses to the incident in February, according to Chris Healy, spokesman for NDOW in Reno.
He declined to say how many people saw the bear rip siding off a home last month, but Healy said the bear trapped and put down Wednesday was positively identified by several people, including an NDOW biologist and people living in the Incline Village neighborhood.
“We are totally confident we identified the bear,” said Healy.
Soon after the incident last month, NDOW trapped another male bear and released it because the agency believed the animal it was looking for was a female based on sightings of a mother with two cubs in the area.
Advocates for non-lethal handling of bears say the department trapped the wrong bear again, and killed it.
Ann Bryant, executive director of BEAR (Bear Education Aversion Response) League in Homewood says she believes the bear seen peeling siding off the house was a female. She says there have been sightings of a male bear rummaging through garbage in the area, but that bear has been chased into another location now and is not the bear captured by NDOW.
Bryant says the garbage-trawling bear is about 2 years old and weighs about 150 pounds, while the bear captured yesterday by NDOW was about 3 years old and 250 pounds.
A male bear seen rummaging for garbage in Incline Village has been chased away, according to BEAR League.
“And the coloration is all different,” she said.
Bryant thinks the bear euthanized by NDOW was lulled out of hibernation by the traps set by the department.
NDOW’s Healy says the department is under fire for doing its job. He says that in 15 years NDOW has captured 900 bears and euthanized about 10 percent of them for public safety concerns.
“What do they want us to do if there is a wild bear?” Healy said. “These are dangerous situations made worse by amateurs.”
Healy says Incline Village residents should be more concerned about stricter garbage collection ordinances since it is garbage that attracts the bears.
“Blaming us is like blaming the guy who cleans up after the circus parade,” said Healy.
BEAR League’s Bryant concedes that garbage ordinances could be better enforced but says that is not the answer. The problem, said Bryant, are people who are afraid of the bears and interested only in killing them, not managing them.
“It’s another notch in their belt,” said Bryant. “And NDOW feeds into it and caters to them.”
Healy says they rousted the bear out of the culvert and had dogs give chase, to which the bear gave “bold behavior”. That’s why he was considered dangerous? sick, sick, sick
We need STRICT LAWS against leaving garbage out and against feeding bears. STRICT LAWS with BIG FINES that are ENFORCED.
Chris Healy is full of it!! He told me today that the bear was “dangerous”, I asked him to define the word, he responded with “do you want us to wait until a bear kills someone?” -I responded with when was the last time a bear killed someone in The Tahoe Basin? He got pissed said I was wasting his time and he hung up on me. These bears do not kill people!! More dogs have attacked/killed people.!!!! Kharma is a ***** buddy, it always comes back!!!
Not much arguing about another Bear killed , come on people are we not into are beautiful bears here in Lake Tahoe? How many more are going to be trapped ? hunted down,killed ? Do we not live in the forest ? are Bears suppose to be in the forest ,? wake up lock those bins ,Yes people should get fined ,no Bin lock,ticket in your hands ,I live around Bears , no ddanger ,if you see one ,just say out loud Get,they leave, Wake up and write to the Gov Sandoval, and tell him you love Bears , you live in Bear country,If you are not welcoming Bears GET OUT OF TOWN,YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE ,THE BEARS DO,ITS THERE FOREST, I am very upset about Bears getting hurt ,or killed,STOP IT NOW ,ONLY WITH YOUR HELP WE CAN DO IT,
Thank you, Ann Bryant of the BEAR League. I get so angry to hear what the good old boys are doing. I can muck out lots of bear cages to help rehab wildlife, but keeping tabs on abuse and phoning the governor, etc. etc. is hugely frustrating. God bless you for being able to do it and for doing it.
Very sad…. We should protect the bear as we are in it’s territory. We keep prisoners on death row forever costing our taxpayers tons of money yet kill innocent bears like this for an offense it can’t help to commit. Its a shame there are so many idiot people out there that feed these majestic animals. Between hunting and this, our bears are in dire straights….
Boy, this makes me so sad/mad. We live in their habitat. They were here before we put houses up around them. Why do you live in Lake Tahoe if you think it’s necessary to kill a bear that ripped some siding off your house? If you don’t like wildlife, move to the city. When we see a bear lingering in our neighborhood, we simply enjoy looking at him for a few moments, maybe take a photo, then scare him away with noise. If noise doesn’t work, we take careful aim and throw rocks at his big rear-end. We basically make it unpleasant for him to be around humans. Because being around people can get him killed. We keep our garbage contained where he can’t get to it. 25 years in Tahoe, never heard of a bear attack. My friend’s dogs chased a very large bear up a tree recently and that bear (luckily for the dogs) wanted no part of violence, even if he could have killed both dogs instantly. Let’s take a lesson from the bear and leave killing out of it.
Many are so irresponsible about their garbage, which invites bears into trouble. I started reporting my former neighbor & taking pictures of his garbage mess. 3 strikes – you’re out and have to buy the expensive metal bear box – It should be the mandatory & enforced.
MoSki, there was an attack a few years ago when a maid at the Station House Inn unknowingly got between the bear and the exit of a narrow maids closet, but all he was trying to do was push her out of the way so he could split. She got some good claw scratches, and I’m sure it raised her heart rate just a bit.
What ever happened to NDOW’s 3-strike rule in this case???
They caught a bear presumed to be the offender, and justified exterminating it because it showed aggression towards the trained bear dogs? Guess what, sometimes bears so aggression towards barking dogs, generally speaking bears are bigger then bears so, of course, some bears are not going to feel to threatened by carnelian bear dogs (which are not that big of a dog).
Another thing, why won’t NDOW work collaboratively with IVGID, Washoe County, and the Bear League? IVGID needs to be allowed to develop and implement a successful bear aversion plan; Bear League volunteers need to be giving the specific training that NDOW requires for dealing with “problem” bears (CA DFG has no issues with the Bear League folks assisting them in the Tahoe Basin, and look at how the situation at the polar end of what’s occurring in Incline).
Even better, the TRPA needs to include a bear management plan for the Tahoe Basin in the Regional Plan Update. The last time I asked a bear what state he prefers, he said he doesn’t understand state boundaries and goes where he pleases.
I’m on the bear’s side. Lock up your garbage and they’ll move along. Don’t move to the woods if you don’t like the residents.